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Re: Tewsley in the solo. I thought it lacked energy and attention to the transitional steps that are so essential in Balanchine's choreography.

It was a beautiful performance. Rutherford's dancing has been brought to a new level over the last few days, I hope it continues. Tewsley partnered well but I was less impressed by his solo. I enjoyed Lowery, found her seductive and witty. Weese was fantastic, it looked like a different ballet than the one Bouree danced - so much detail. I also thought Neal looked terrific. Kowrowski is very different than Farrell in this role. Farrell was a queen or a princess, Kowrowski is like some magical creature. She's not always in control of her limbs or her effects but on a good day like today, she brings a kind of fantasy to the stage that is irrestible.

It has been a very difficult week at NYCB with many injuries but perhaps, not surprisingly the Company pulled off a very strong weekend of performances. Newly injured are Miilepied, Mandarjeff, and Barak. Hopefully, these are not serious and we will see them soon. Sat. night brought a lovely Donizetti Variations. Ringer was excellent, I saw no problems with either her petite or grande allegro and her sweetness works well in this piece. Neal danced strongly, good line in his jumps and great elegance, and was very engaged with Ringer. His turns and double tours remain problematic but were stronger than I have seen them some times. The ladies of the corp looked great and Hankes gets an award for stamina, she was in all 3 ballets on Sat. Severini, Hendricksen and Carmena were well matched and danced in the kind of perfect unison we rarely see. Scotch Symphony was a disappointment. Martins appeared tired (although who can blame him, given his reh. and perf schedule ). Nichols was not having a great night. There were some lovely momentts but this performance had much more limited mobility then she showed in the same role last season. Van Kipnis was terrific as the girl in red. Piano Concerto #2 has had two distinguished debuts in recent weeks. Somoygi's had more grandeur and more interesting musical phrasing. Cavallo was warmer with lovely arms. Both were very well supported by Askegard. Last night, Bouder did the second ballerina. Great attention to detail, terrifically powerful and musical. And she did feel that she had to wrestle the part to the ground as she some times does. Kudos to the female corps in this, just beautiful. They have been a tower of strength throughout the season and deserve all our applause. Today's Swan Lake had more cast changes than I ever remember seeing in decades of attending City Ballet. Cavallo was an excellent Odette/Odile, well partnered by Martins who danced as well and as passionately as I have ever seen him. I prefer my Odette's to have more extravagantly swan-like arms than Cavallo used but she gave a strong performance over all. The pas de quatre was danced beautifully by Ringer, Tinsley and Van Kipnis supported by Jonatham Stafford who made a strong showing but needs more elegance. Bouree danced as well as I have ever seen her dance in the Russian dance, relaxed and stylish and well supported by Fayette. Fairchild, Orza and Riggins were a pleasure to watch in the Act II pas de Trois. Orza is growing as a dancer. As is Carmena who gave a good performance in the Neopolitan dance in Act III wirh Edge. In fact , all of the national dances were well done with an elegant Arch Higgins in Spanish. Ulbricht 's Jester was more carefully and musically danced than previously. I really enjoyed it. Again, the female corps was strong and stylish and much more precise than in former years. I love the power they bring to the corps dances. The Company is now having a well deserved day off.

I believe she takes a leave from Movin Out and then returns when her ABT dates are done.

I'm now totally confused. There were 2 red heads in Tarantella and I don't think Cavallo, who danced the Sylph. was in Conservatory. The dancer I liked in that piece had pale brown hair and was medium height and slightly built. She wore a pale blue costume in Napoli. It is really a shame that the program can not be done correctly. Unfair to both the dancers and the audience. If you have a chance, any one, go see them at NJPAC.

First, it seems a shame to me that NYC cann't see the full company. To add insult to injury, the "Stars" performance was at Brooklyn College - an unattractive college auditorium although it has good sight lines. On the upside, there were an unusal number of African-American audiece members - so kudos to Brooklyn College on their marketing strategy and community audience development. But, the performance took place on a bare stage, with a not very good sound system or tape (not sure which is to blame) and mediocre lighting. Hard to judge anything under these conditions. The printed program was full of inaccuracies, listing the same three dancers for three pieces - one of which was the Flower Festival ppd. So in some cases, I'm not sure who danced. But, we did get to see some wonderful dancers including Hubbe, Schandorff, Blangstrup, Amy Watson and Thomas Lund. The program opened with a pas de trois from "Conservatory". Schandorff, Blangstrup and Claire Still got a slow start but brought the piece to a successful conclusion. Watson and Lund did the ppd from Wilhelm Tell beautifully. Lund has fantastic legs tapering to beautiful feet and uses them well in the petit allegro that is a Bournville signature. Watson seemed at home in this style and had lots of charm. An excerpt on a bare stage is not a fair way to judge Hubbe's La Sylphide in which he danced James and Cavallo danced the Sylph. I wasn't much charmed by her, she's seems to be a nice dancer but this was a generic interpretation of the role. Hubbe looked stylish, happy and relaxed. This stuff is in his blood and he seemed happy to be dancing it - both here and in the Tarantella from Napoli. Two pieces or excerpts of pieces by Tim Rushton followed. To me, they seemed like imitation "Trisha Brown", follwed by fake "Twyla Tharp." Flower Festival ppd proceeded Napoli. I'm guessing that it was danced by Dawid Kupinski, based on Alexandra's description. In any case, the dancer had a lovely and light jump. Napoli pas de six and Tarantella closed the program. Obviously, stamina was not an issue in this excerpt. I particularly liked Lund and Schandorff. Watson did the role with the scarf, again charmingly. I haven't seen the company as a whole since the 80's and never saw them often enough to be aware of the finer points of style that Alexandra brings up in her review. What is clear is that Bournville has universal appeal, the Brooklyn audience (by no means a "dance audience") responded strongly to his work on this program. Also clear is that NYC is deprieved of a great deal of pleasure by not seeing the full company. Come on City Center or Lincoln Center Festival bring them over!

Divertimento #15 for me and Agon for history.

I think that it is Johanna Kirkland in Who Cares? I had remembered Von Arnoldigen as unparalleled in Stairway to Paradise and this video. No one else covered space in this part as she did. And Morris was clearly a great turner - lovely to see her in two roles.

There is a brief scene of Falstaff's death, which may be from Henry IV, part 2 but the rest is from Henry V.

David Gordon's new piece, Dancing Henry Five, is a powerful reduction of the Shakespeare play set to William Walton's music. Gordon finds a way using narration, brief fragments of Shakespeare's text and dance to create a powerful but subtle statement about war, heroism, and patriotism. The stage pictures are unusually beautiful and he creates battle scenes using only six or seven dancers. Tadjej Brdnik, who also dances with Graham, is a terrific Henry. He's both regal and wily. There are four more performances this Thurs - Sun at Danspace.

Does any one have any information on this project? Many thanks.

Research shows that individual donors in America give twice as much to not-for-profit organizations as do corporations, government and foundations combined. This also holds true for arts organizations. The drop in government funding is certainly very regrettable as a sign of how unimportant the arts are to our elected officials. But it does not signal the end of the arts in America.

As a fundraiser, all I can say is - I'm happy to have the money to support good work!

This season, I've seen some wonderful perfomances in this role. Bouder, Weese and Van Kipnis have done it many times and each of their performances is distinct. Bouder is the most athletic but never at the expense of detail - everything is clear and unforced. Weese's musicality finds time for some moments where she luxuriates in the movement and others where she pounces on the beat. Van Kipnis simply sparkles, she seems to particularly enjoy the challenges of the part. I was also able to see Carrie Lee Riggins debut a few days ago. She did a splendid job with one long hled balance in arabesque that excited the audience. All that was missing from her performance was the sense of amplitude and relaxation that the other ladies bring to the role but I'm sure that will come.

Hi DancingBoi and Banana Feet. Welcome to this forum. It is exactly the right place to post about all kinds of dance. Glad to know that you enjoyed Ailey II inspite of small mistakes and some subs. Hope you'll post here often about other companies you see.

Highs: Noah Laracey and Nancy Lemanger in Never Gonna Dance on Broadway. Great choreography and they dance it beautifully. A must see for anyone who likes traditional Broadway choreography to a great score of Jerome Kern hits. Twyla Tharp's company at the Joyce. I find her work continually inventive and she has fabulous dancers. I was happy to see both Stuart Capps and Emily Coates. The growth of Michael Trusovic of the Paul Taylor Company. Always a good dancer, he has brought new depth to his roles, especially in Last Look, which remains a terrifying look at the worst in human nature. And the continued artistry of Patrick Corbin. Lows: Horrible choreography in Wicked.

Paquita at the Paris Opera, my first look at the company in their home theatre. Silly story, glorious sets and costunes and wonderful dancing. The continuing growth in artistry of Whelan, Somoygi and Boal at NYCB. And Boal as Oberon. A late June Walpurgisnacht by Kyra Nichols that was the best performance of the ballet I've seen since Farrell's day. Witty, musical and strongly danced. The return of Ashley Bouder and Miranda Weese to full strength, especially as Dew Drop this winter. Opening night of the winter season at NYCB with a fabulous Symphony in C and a wonderful performance by Soto in Bugaku. Van Kipnis and Rutherford as tortoises and Redpath as the Swan in Wheeldon's Carnival of the Animals. McKerrow as Juliet last spring at the Met. Her ability to convey emotion through her dancing brought this war horse of a ballet to life. Dovorvenko (sp?) as Gamzetti and Cornejo as the Golden Idol. Part as Queen of the Dryads in Don Q (my only glimpse of her this season). The ABT revival of Symphonic Variations. I've always wanted to see this ballet, now I just hope it stays around long enough for ABT to master it. Alex Ritter and Peter Boal with Suzanne Farrell Ballet at NJPAC. Living in NYC where we are lucky enough to have all this and more at our disposal.

I enjoyed the performance as well. I've been lucky in my Dewdrops. Weese, Bouder and at Tuesday's matinee Van Kipnis who gives a great performance in this role - warm, detailed and musical. Ringer and Martins ( on Tues afternoon) were SPF and her cavelier and did a terrific job with the ppd. Ringer is warmer and more charming than Somogyi in this role. Somogyi is more regal. Both are terrific.

Hi, Try dancenyc.org, they may have a forum or one of the dance publications such as Dance Magazine or Dance Spirit. Or better yet, post ideas, questions, comments here and let's try to make this an active part of the board. What have you seen recently that moved you or interested you?

Fairchild's debut was respectable but no more. Her best dancing was in the first solo was charming and very well danced with great attention to detail. The ppd was more problematic. De Luz wasn't up to the challenge and after a few miscues, Fairchild understandably tensed up and things got worse from there. The shoulder sits went well but the moment where the SPF is pulled across the stage in arabesque was a problem. Fairchild fell off pointe and then when she regained her balance the track didn't move, so she was stuck in arabesque for a long time. De Luz's solo was ok but his back foot was not pointed in the circle of jetes. His turns in a la seconde were nice. Fairchild did well in the solo. But the heroine of the afternoon was Bouder as Dewdrop. A stunning performance with every detail in place. Broavo!

Ms. Browne retired from ABT some years ago and is now teaching in NYC at Steps. My daughter finds her an inspiring teacher and she is still a very beautiful woman.

Good house last nigth inspite of the house and a terrific performance. Ulbricht as the Soldier was a cleaner, more musical rendition of this role than we usually see. Inspite of a slight slip, Reichlen was a terrific Coffee. Very sexy and provocative as well as nicely danced. Weese was spectacular as Dewdrop luxuriating in some of her arabeques in a way I don't see often. She had a nice contrast of speed and slowness and as always great musicality. Ringer and Soto were terrific in the ppd. His partnering was magnificent, using only one hand to support Ringer at moments when most men need two. The ppd had a magical atmosphere that the whole audience really appreciated. It was the high point of the evening as it should be.

Symphony in C is like Hamlet, there's no performance I've seen that was so bad I couldn't find something to enjoy in it. Both works are so rich. Last night, I especially noticed how movement motifs keep reappearing in various parts of the ballet and the way that the corps frames the action. The corps's arm movements enhance the action of the soloists and principals rather than distracting from it. I've seen many dancers in the 2nd movement and prefer those who seem to create an intimate fantasy world that drraws us in. From what I've seen on tape, Kent did that very well as did Farrell. Ashley was more forthright and Whelan used to be very strict in the role, in recent seasons though her performances have been magical. I think Arlene Croce called it, "the most privledged role in the repertoire," and it will be interesting to see some one like Sylve in the role. Asanelli has the fantasy for the part but with her weaker turn out, it may not be the best role for her.

For me last night put to rest all questions of the "weakness" of NYCB corps. They were marvelous in all three pieces. No other company that I've seen recently moves with the kind of drive and sweep and energy that NYCB does. And thats serves Balanchine well, I think. I enjoyed the SAB ladies and was happy to see a variety of body types. Though more tentative than the NYCB corps, they have a youthful innocence that is infectious. I wanted to see more drama from Sylve as the Dark Angel but perhaps it will come as she relaxes into her part. Both Nichols and Borree did well and I treasure each of Nichols performances - she always shows us what it means to be a ballerina taking reponsibility for the whole piece not just her role. Haven't seen Bugaku for years and had forgotten how great the set is and those petal tutus are gorgeous. Soto was inspired, the weightiness of his movement really created a believable character. Kistler danced fairly well but her performance really didn't register for me. She wasn't much different in this part than in most of her other roles - charmingly girlish. Deanna McBreaty in the corps caught the sense of imposture much better - a china doll dipped in acid. Somoygi was incomparable last night. Tewsley did well and they look good together but I found him lacking in energy. I enjoyed Kowrowski and Askegard partnered her well. She has some flaws as a dancer but in this performance, she created the magical, insular world I want to see in the second movement. Millepied was great and brought refinement to a role that is often just "jump and jump and jump." Taylor needs to improve her arms to be principal dancer caliber, IMO. I loved Van Kipnis and Evans in the 4th movement and no other company could have kept pace with Quinn's tempo and still danced full out. Call me sentimental but the picture, the toast and the dancers' bow brought a tear to my eye. Here's to a great season.

I'd order online now. People buy their tickets at the box office as the date gets closer, so the selection will be even less promising if you wait until you arrive.